Web offers resources on world's religions

By Bill Broadway
The Washington Post

Of the scores of new Web sites on religion, a few have emerged as particularly useful to anyone interested in learning more
about different expressions of faith.

Enthusiasts can thank people such as Preston Hunter, a computer programmer in Texas who developed Adherents.com,
perhaps the most extensive Internet bank of membership statistics, and Harry Plantinga, a computer science professor in
Michigan who spent thousands of hours scanning texts to create the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

Here is a list of some informative and helpful sites developed by individuals, institutions or organizations. All can be
accessed without a fee and without registering for membership.

This site breaks down more than 4,200 religions, denominations and faith groups throughout the world by size and geographic
area. It also includes such facts as the religious affiliations of U.S. presidents, actors and science fiction/fantasy
writers.

Founded by Harvard Divinity School graduate Jacqueline Trussel, this 2-year-old site provides news, histories and features
about African-American denominations, plus chat rooms and tips on preaching and worship.

This Iowa State University site offers links to religious resources on the Internet, including specialized directories, study
guides, journals and organizations. Similar services include the Virtual Religion Index (religion.rutgers.edu/vri/index.html)
and Internet Resources in Religion and Society (users.drew.edu/ epullen/links/internet.html).

Wheaton College, the alma mater of the Rev. Billy Graham, is located in Illinois and is considered by many the spiritual and
intellectual center of American evangelical Protestantism. History, resources and news appear here, along with a glossary that
clarifies such terms as evangelicalism, fundamentalism and Pentecostalism.

The number of entries on this site has increased rapidly with Pope John Paul II's unprecedented rate of beatification
pronouncements. The canonization last month of Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, the first native Indian saint, and Pedro de San Jose
de Betancur, Guatemala's first saint, bring the total to 3,795.

Harvard University's Pluralism Project has emerged as a premier observer of America's rapidly changing religious landscape.
Students will find helpful facts, figures and resources on world religions and interfaith activity in the United States.

Religious Movements Page

(religiousmovements.lib

.virginia.edu/home.html)

This University of Virginia project has originated 150 profiles of religious movements, including recently formed sects and
cults. This expansive resource also houses the archives of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and new sections on
religious freedom and religious broadcasting.

An interfaith group of two dozen U.S. denominations supports this database of news releases on religious events, activities
and developments worldwide. The archive of 18,000 documents includes reports in five languages.